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Mervyn LeRoy and Ray Bolger

Updated Mar 25, 2024
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Mervyn LeRoy and Ray Bolger
A photo of Mervyn LeRoy and Ray Bolger as the Scarecrow.
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Ray Bolger
Ray Bolger Born January 10, 1904 in Dorchester, Massachusetts, USA Died January 15, 1987 in Los Angeles, California, USA (cancer) Birth Name Raymond Wallace Bolger Height 5' 10½" (1.79 m) Mini Bio (1) Ray Bolger was born Raymond Wallace Bolger on January 10, 1904 in Dorchester, Massachusetts, to Anne C. (Wallace) and James Edward Bolger, both Irish-Americans. Ray began his career in vaudeville. He was half of a team called "Sanford and Bolger" and also did numerous Broadway shows on his own. Like Gene Kelly, he was a song-and-dance man as well as an actor. He was signed to a contract with MGM and his first role was as himself in The Great Ziegfeld (1936). This was soon followed by a role opposite Eleanor Powell in the romantic comedy Rosalie (1937). His first dancing and singing role was in Sweethearts (1938), where he did the "wooden shoes" number with redheaded soprano/actress Jeanette MacDonald. This got him noticed by MGM producers and resulted in his being cast in his most famous role, the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz (1939). Surprisingly, even though the film was a success, Bolger's contract with MGM ended. He went to RKO Radio Pictures to make the romantic comedy Four Jacks and a Jill (1942). After this, Bolger went to Broadway, where he received his greatest satisfaction. In 1953, he turned to television and received his own sitcom, Where's Raymond? (1953), later changed to "The Ray Bolger Show". After his series ended, Bolger guest starred on many television series such as Battlestar Galactica (1978) and Fantasy Island (1977), and had some small roles in movies. In 1985, he co-hosted the documentary film That's Dancing! (1985) with Liza Minnelli. Ray Bolger died of bladder cancer in Los Angeles, California on January 15, 1987, five days after his 83rd birthday. Spouse (1) Gwendolyn Bolger (9 July 1929 - 15 January 1987) ( his death) Trade Mark (2) His rubbery dancing style His iconic role as the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz (1939) Trivia (13) Great-uncle of actor John Bolger. He was awarded 2 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Motion Pictures at 6788 Hollywood Boulevard; and for Television at 6834 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California. He was always closely identified with the Scarecrow. He once guest starred on the game show Password All-Stars (1961). When the word "Ray" came up, he said to his partner "Me!". His partner readily answered "Scarecrow!". Following his death, he was interred at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. Was the last surviving cast member of The Wizard of Oz (1939). Won Broadway's 1949 Tony Award as Best Actor (Musical) for "Where's Charley?", a role he recreated in the film version, Where's Charley? (1952). He was also nominated in the same Tony Award category in 1962 for "All American". Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume Two, 1986-1990, pages 115-116. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999. Made his first Broadway stage appearance in 1926. Bolger was among those entertainers who opened Manhattan's famed Radio City Music Hall on December 27, 1932. After the management realized that the public's taste for vaudeville had waned, it cut back on the live entertainment and supplemented it with movies. He was a member of the Good Shepherd Parish and the Catholic Motion Picture Guild in Beverly Hills, California. He was posthumously awarded a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars in Palm Springs, California on January 10, 1998. Inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame (1980) and the International Tap Dance Hall of Fame (2015). Despite persistent web rumors, Ray was born Raymond Wallace Bolger, and the family's surname was never "Bulcao". His father, James Edward Bolger, was the son of Raymond Bolger and Maria Mahoney. His mother, Anne C. Wallace, was the daughter of William Wallace and Joanna Hassett. All of his grandparents were of Irish origin. Personal Quotes (2) [on playing the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz (1939)] I knew that I was taking part in a strange kind of adventure. [When asked how much money he made from the repeat showings of The Wizard of Oz (1939), he and his wife often responded] No residuals, just immortality. Salary (1) The Wizard of Oz (1939) $3,000 a week.
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Mervyn LeRoy
Film Director Mervyn LeRoy Dead at 86 SEP. 14, 1987 1 TIMES STAFF WRITER Oscar-winning producer-director Mervyn LeRoy, the one-time San Francisco newsboy who set the tone of Hollywood movie making for 40 years with such films as “Little Caesar,” “The Wizard of Oz,” “Quo Vadis” and “Gypsy"--and co-founded Hollywood Park race track--died Sunday at his home in Beverly Hills. He was 86, and members of the family said heart ailments had kept him bedridden for the last six months. “Mervyn went peacefully, in his sleep,” said Kitty LeRoy, his wife of 41 years. “His heart just gave way. He was dead when I came to wake him at 8 a.m. It was a good kind of death after a good kind of life. ‘Good and Sweet Man’ “None of us could have wanted anything better for a good and sweet man. . . .” In addition to his wife, he leaves a daughter, Linda Jacklow, a son, Warner LeRoy, and five grandchildren. Funeral services are pending. One of the most successful products of the pre-World War II studio system, LeRoy’s career was a reflection of the strengths of that system--while betraying almost none of its weaknesses. He had been a full-fledged director at First National (later Warner Bros.) for only three years when his handling of “Little Caesar” and “I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang” boosted Edward G. Robinson and Paul Muni to stardom--and set the tone of fast-paced toughness that dominated Warners’ products for a decade. Later, at MGM, he presided over a series of lush, romantic vehicles that enhanced the careers of such stars as Vivien Leigh and Greer Garson, while displaying a total mastery of such diverse forms as musicals, historical spectaculars, action films and even children’s fantasy. He won an Oscar in 1942 for directing “Random Harvest,” received an honorary Oscar three years later for producing a short subject, “The House I Live In,” and was selected for the Irving Thalberg Memorial career achievement award in 1975. “And through it all,” studio mogul Jack Warner told a magazine interviewer in the 1960s, “he never seemed to have a box-office disaster. Maybe one or two that didn’t do as well as they might--but no disasters. And mixed in there, several of the biggest winners of all time. “Add the fact that you can’t find anyone in town to call him a son of a b****--and you’ve got a real giant. “There’s nobody like him and never will be. . . .” In addition, LeRoy helped found the Hollywood Turf Club--which built Hollywood Park--five decades ago and served for three decades as president of the corporation that controlled the race track. It was LeRoy who introduced Ronald Reagan to then-actress Nancy Davis. In a statement issued Sunday by the White House, the President and Mrs. Reagan called him “a special part of our lives. “It was he who introduced us. And he was always a precious friend,” the statement said. “Mervyn LeRoy was one of the pillars of the entertainment industry, responsible for some of the finest motion pictures ever. He was one of the greatest directors and producers of all time, knowing exactly how a scene should be and knowing just what to say to get his actors to make it right.” “He had a touch that was like no other,” Lane Curtiz said in a 1981 appreciation. “The name ‘Mervyn LeRoy’ on the film meant that your intellect was not likely to be assaulted and your sense of fitness would emerge intact. There was an essential rightness about all that he did. “You knew the film he made would be as decent and elegant as the man himself.”
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Amanda S. Stevenson
For fifty years I have been a Document Examiner and that is how I earn my living. For over 50 years I have also been a publicist for actors, singers, writers, composers, artists, comedians, and many progressive non-profit organizations. I am a Librettist-Composer of a Broadway musical called, "Nellie Bly" and I am in the process of making small changes to it. In addition, I have written over 100 songs that would be considered "popular music" in the genre of THE AMERICAN SONGBOOK.
My family consists of four branches. The Norwegians and The Italians and the Norwegian-Americans and the Italian Americans.
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